In December, the SEC became the first conference in Division I to implement a policy to penalize its member institutions with fines if their fans storm the court following a basketball game.

The effect was evident on Sunday when the crowd stayed in the stands after Florida upset No. 3 Kentucky 53-52 at the O'Connell Center.

"(The fans) have no business on the court - none," Wildcats coach Tubby Smith said. "It's all in good fun, but it can get out of hand."

Of the three nationally gripping games of the day, Florida security was the only to hold. Fans at Ohio State rushed the floor after the Buckeyes upset No. 1-ranked and previously undefeated Illinois 65-64 on a 3-pointer in the waning seconds. The Dean Smith Center court was flooded with Carolina Blue when No. 2 North Carolina beat rival and sixth-ranked Duke 75-73.

"Since I've been here, our fans have never rushed the floor," said Gators coach Billy Donovan, in his ninth year. "The credit has to go to our administration. The SEC put a policy in this year. I think our university has done a good job before the policy."

Rushing the floor is generally viewed as an exciting part of the college game, but fewer fans have been on SEC floors this year than last. The incident at South Carolina is the only court-storming incident this season, while fans rushed the court twice at Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum alone last season.

But retaining revenue, not fostering a rowdy environment, is the central reason the Big XII has not adopted a policy similar to the SEC, spokesman Bob Burda said.

"Because conference policy goes through the athletic directors and CEOs of the universities, there has been some reluctance to do anything to take away revenue and funds," Burda said, adding the Big XII has reviewd the SEC model and discussed adopting a similar policy. "Until they want to take a more aggressive stand on the condition of it, we'll stay the present course."

SEC schools are individually responsible to promote sportsmanship and crowd control at home events. Members who fail to keep fans in the stands will be fined $5,000 for a first offense, $25,000 for the second and $50,000 for the third and subsequent offenses.

South Carolina was the first to feel the bite of the new policy. The conference fined the school $5,000 after Gamecocks fans stormed the court following a nationally-televised 73-61 upset of Kentucky on Feb. 15 at the Colonial Center in Columbia, S.C.

"I feel security here at our place is every bit as secure as it can possibly be," South Carolina coach Dave Odom said. "We still weren't able to keep it from happening."

A court-storming incident at Stegeman Coliseum has been credited with motivating the SEC to take action. A Georgia fan hit Florida guard Matt Walsh in the back following the Bulldogs' 76-62 upset on Feb. 17, 2004.

"I've said it before, it's the best thing for the players," said Donovan, who compared the incident involving Indiana Pacers players going into the stands and fighting with spectators during an NBA game earlier this season to the risks involved with fans coming into the players' domain.

"You have to have separation as a safety issue," Donovan said. "You could have a potential problem with fans coming onto the floor. On TV, it looks great, promotes and adds excitement to the game, unless your a person in the middle of it.

"It's going to take a situation like that to get it to stop."

Said Odom, "Clearly the conference has a policy in place, whether you agree with it or not, that's preemptive. I'm not going to tell you it doens't take away from the excitement of the game, because it does.

"Anytime you have a situation like this, there's a give and take," Odom added. "In this particular case, the league, the commissioner's office, the athletic directors and university presidents have said very clearly that it's not in the best interest of sportsmanship from the standpoint of safety for the participants, including spectators. It's in the league's best interest to act on the side of caution."